Emerson Report Suggests Major Shifts in Data Center Ecosystem

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson EMR and a global leader in maximizing availability, capacity and efficiency of critical infrastructure, today released a new report that highlights a major shift in mid-size data center management. Real-time data, the report says, will be housed closer to consumers, eliminating concerns about content volume, reliability and accessibility.

The report, “Data Center 2025: Exploring the Possibilities,” summarizes insights from more than 800 data center professionals around the world. It finds that more than 60 percent of telecom network facilities will become or converge with data centers in the next decade.

“As consumers continue to rely on 24/7 mobile access, network boundaries as they are known today will evolve,” said Scott Barbour, business leader of Emerson Network Power. “Shifting storage and compute requirements will lead the industry to adopt a more flexible data center ecosystem and simplify the way we access business data while on the go.”

From increased cloud utilization to the growth of hyperscale footprints to solar-power, a new class of data center is poised to emerge.

• Ecosystem Shifts: More than 30 percent of survey participants envision small data centers will be embedded in neighborhood settings by 2025. Further, respondents believe two-thirds of telecom companies will rely on colocation facilities – another efficiency-based data center management approach.
• Investment in Alternative Fuels: The report also suggests the data center of the future will rely on alternative fuels. In 2025, respondents ambitiously predict that 20 percent of the energy used by data centers will be powered by solar; followed by nuclear, natural gas and wind power as other alternatives.
• Self-healing and Predictive Maintenance: Roughly 43 percent of survey participants believe data centers will have self-healing and predictive maintenance capabilities by 2025, enabling conflict resolution via remote management.
• Shrinking Enterprise Data Centers: Today, demand is driven by the need for storage and access. As technology continues to progress and become more efficient – and storage ideals shift – mid-size data centers will shrink, with the offsetting traffic load transitioning to both hyperscale and small scale network locations. Fifty-eight percent of survey respondents expect that data centers will be half the size of current facilities, or smaller, by 2025. Similarly, industry experts predict two-thirds of data center computing will be done in the cloud.

While more than 800 data center professionals from around the world responded to the Data Center 2025 survey, dozens of others contributed their thoughts via interviews, email and video. To view the full report and video input from industry experts, visit www.EmersonNetworkPower.com/DataCenter2025.

For more information on Emerson Network Power products and solutions that support the data center, visit www.EmersonNetworkPower.com.

About Emerson Network Power

Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson EMR, delivers software, hardware and services that maximize availability, capacity and efficiency for data centers, healthcare and industrial facilities. A trusted industry leader in smart infrastructure technologies, Emerson Network Power provides innovative data center infrastructure management solutions that bridge the gap between IT and facility management and deliver efficiency and uncompromised availability regardless of capacity demands. Our solutions are supported globally by local Emerson Network Power service technicians. Learn more about Emerson Network Power products and services at www.EmersonNetworkPower.com.

About Emerson

Emerson EMR, based in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets around the world. The company is comprised of five business segments: Process Management, Industrial Automation, Network Power, Climate Technologies, and Commercial & Residential Solutions. Sales in fiscal 2013 were $24.7 billion. For more information, visit www.Emerson.com.